Northwest Sports Roundup | Kent stunned in regional final

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Kent Little League manager Steve Wright had been saying it all along: All it would take was one hot pitcher to challenge his slugging Washington state champions.

Kent ran into that pitcher Sunday night, in the form of gutsy Levi Rudolph of Lake Oswego (Oregon) Little League.

Rudolph, using a darting curveball, kept hard-hitting Kent off balance for five innings en route to a stunning 6-2 win by Oregon in the Northwest Region title game.

"Rudolph was hitting his spots all game long and his curve was real effective," Wright said. "We weren't overconfident; he just pitched a real great game."

The victory ended Kent's season and sent Oregon to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

The loss appeared to shock Kent, which had won 16 consecutive games, 14 of which it scored in double figures. Kent went 4-0 in Northwest Region pool play, including a 14-7 win over Oregon (3-1).

But Sunday night belonged to Rudolph, who also made a catch above the fence in center field in the sixth to rob D.J. Elmer of a home run.

"It hurts to lose," Wright said. "The kids are disappointed and I'm disappointed. But Oregon played well and I tip my hat to them."

Tennis

Bally Tennis of Tacoma defeated Seattle's Hungry Hippos 4-1 in the men's 4.0 division finals at the USTA Adult League Pacific Northwest Section Tennis Championships in Portland.

Among other results, Bellevue's Robinswood Tennis Club topped Spokane Athletic Club in women's 2.5; Seattle's Amy Yee Tennis Club beat Hood River Sports Club 3-2 in women's 3.5; Amy Yee topped Portland's Sunset Athletic Club 3-2 in women's 4.5; and Seattle Tennis Club beat Tri-City Country Club in women's 5.0.

All sectional victors earned berths in this fall's USTA National Championships.

Notes

• CJ Munko, who will be a sophomore at Tahoma High School, shot a two-round total of 142 to win the 14th annual Riverbend Doxson Toyota Amateur by a shot on the Riverbend Golf Course in Kent.

• Washington State center Aron Baynes had team highs of 16 points and eight rebounds, but his native Australia lost 69-53 to the Czech Republic in a men's basketball second-phase contest at the World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand.

In other second-phase action, Cougars guard Thomas Abercrombie and New Zealand lost 90-87 to Israel.

Sports-information reports contributed to this report..